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It was the 20-time Grand Slam winner's first appearance since
being deported from Australia and missing the Australian Open
due to his unvaccinated status. Djokovic had 13 winners in a
74-minute triumph in his 2022 debut.
"All in all, it's a straight-sets win, so of course I have to be
satisfied with my tennis, especially after not playing for
two-and-a-half, three months," Djokovic said during his on-court
interview. "Of course, there were moments when I played great,
there were moments when I made a couple of unforced errors in a
row uncharacteristically. But it's normal to expect that (in my)
first match after a while."
In other matches, Brit Andy Murray outlasted Aussie Christopher
O'Connell 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5; Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely posted
a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic; Japan's Taro
Daniel registered a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Belgium's David Goffin;
and Serbia's Filip Krajinovic defeated Tunisia's Malek Jaziri
6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4.
Chile Dove Men+Care Open
Nicolas Jarry couldn't take advantage of two set points in the
opening round of his hometown event, and he fell 7-6 (9), 6-4 to
Brazil's Thiago Monteiro in Santiago, Chile.
Jarry, who has been ranked as high as No. 38 in the world but is
now No. 143, had opportunities to take the first-set tiebreaker
at 6-5 and 8-6. Monteiro eventually prevailed on his third set
point. Monteiro got the lone service break of the match for a
5-4 lead in the second set, then held serve at love to seal the
win.
Also moving into the second round were eighth-seeded Facundo
Bagnis and Juan Ignacio Londero, both of Argentina, and Thiago
Seyboth Wild of Brazil.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The United States' John Isner blasted 29 aces and emerged with a
7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the
first round at Acapulco, Mexico.
Isner double-faulted just once and dropped his serve only one
time.
Seventh-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States downed France's
Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, and eighth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta
of Spain topped Germany's Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4. Germany's Peter
Gojowczyk knocked out the United States' Brandon Nakashima 6-4,
6-4, and Serbia's Dusan Lajovic defeated Sebastian Korda of the
U.S. 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
The United States' Stefan Kozlov, a lucky loser from qualifying,
made the most of his opportunity with a late-night win over
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-3. The match ended
after 1 a.m. local time.
--Field Level Media
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